Asian Currencies Drop as U.S., Greece Budget Risks Spur Outflows

Asian currencies dropped this week as concern budget deficits in the U.S. and Greece will delay a global economic recovery prompted investors to pull money from riskier assets.

The Philippine peso led declines with its biggest weekly loss in three months after growth in remittances from citizens living abroad slowed, while China’s yuan pared gains after reaching a 19-year high. President Barack Obama began negotiations with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders yesterday to address the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff, which involves $607 billion of automatic spending cuts and tax increases. Euro-area finance ministers will hold a meeting to discuss aid for Greece.